|
Post by grad66 on Mar 15, 2011 14:26:10 GMT -5
Well-said 72, very realistic goals. I saw these kids practicing on Sunday, hopeful for NIT but more than happy to continue playing (CIT). That said, let's all wish them well Wednesday night! Go Valpo!!
|
|
|
Post by theladybook on Mar 15, 2011 19:56:48 GMT -5
Granted, people react to disappointment in different ways. Some can't help being "negative." However, the posts that have been off the mark, in my opinion, are those that seem to suggest the writers care more about what happens than the players do. No way--to you it is entertainment, while to them it is life. I've been fortunate to get to know the team members pretty well as individuals, and I see up close how awful they feel when things don't go well. We all have our failings and shortcomings, and none of us has our lives go according to plan, right? But very few of the rest us have our hard times out in the open for the world to see and criticize--and then have to come back and try again, in public, at age 17, or 22, to boot. Hmmm, maybe that's why some folks say sports can build character, ya think?
Also, pointing out that someone has been sick or is nursing an injury is not making excuses for the games when the plan doesn't work and things go awry--but it helps show some reasons why performance can shift from time to time. (It is also possible that behind the scenes there may be pressures of classes, or even--yikes!--occasional girlfriend problems that can interfere with concentration; they are human, after all!) So I would just urge a little charity while regretting some outcomes. Yes, winning is important, and is the aim of the game, but it is best to keep it in perspective: nearly everyone loses as the season, or tournament, draws to a close.
|
|
|
Post by wh on Mar 16, 2011 14:50:41 GMT -5
Granted, people react to disappointment in different ways. Some can't help being "negative." However, the posts that have been off the mark, in my opinion, are those that seem to suggest the writers care more about what happens than the players do. No way--to you it is entertainment, while to them it is life. I've been fortunate to get to know the team members pretty well as individuals, and I see up close how awful they feel when things don't go well. We all have our failings and shortcomings, and none of us has our lives go according to plan, right? But very few of the rest us have our hard times out in the open for the world to see and criticize--and then have to come back and try again, in public, at age 17, or 22, to boot. Hmmm, maybe that's why some folks say sports can build character, ya think? Also, pointing out that someone has been sick or is nursing an injury is not making excuses for the games when the plan doesn't work and things go awry--but it helps show some reasons why performance can shift from time to time. (It is also possible that behind the scenes there may be pressures of classes, or even--yikes!--occasional girlfriend problems that can interfere with concentration; they are human, after all!) So I would just urge a little charity while regretting some outcomes. Yes, winning is important, and is the aim of the game, but it is best to keep it in perspective: nearly everyone loses as the season, or tournament, draws to a close. I can't believe - I don't want to believe - that the players have ever used illness, injuries or general fatigue as an excuse for losing basketball games. So why are you? Is there an excuse in your excuse book for losing to Loyola and Green Bay down the stretch, 2 teams that everyone in the HL league kicked around all season, and throw away the best opportunity we've had in years to go to the NCAA tourney, or at a minimum the NIT? Are you suggesting that the teams that beat us didn't have to deal with injuries? Didn't suffer from fatigue? Didn't get sick? And by the way, these were teams that had nothing to play for except pride, and yet they still found a way to rise to the occasion and defeat us. How easy it would have been for them to use one of your ready-made excuses and just mail it in - but apparently they don't have someone around like you to comfort and console them. Finally, quit saying these are just kids. They are 18-23 year old adults. More than half of their peer group are already out in the real world trying to earn a pay check and being held to "adult world" standards. We have forty million reasons for failure, but not a single excuse. Kipling
|
|
|
Post by theladybook on Mar 17, 2011 19:32:36 GMT -5
Don't know how old you are, Mr. HL, but it doesn't seem to be a very mature attitude to kick people when they're down. No, I don't bother with excuses for LU and WGB--things happen, and we pick up and go on. Could it possibly be that you always find success in every effort and that explains having no tolerance for those who don't? Do you set such a high bar for others around you? In that case, life must be miserable, and one would hope you don't have children who would suffer from such rantings. (Or maybe underneath it's all just bluster . . . )
P.S. By the way, in some circles my nickname is Little Merry Sunshine, and it's a pretty good way to live, honest.
|
|
|
Post by theladybook on Mar 17, 2011 19:33:53 GMT -5
Whoops, sorry, I wrote HL instead of WH. Apologies.
|
|
|
Post by wh on Mar 18, 2011 14:13:27 GMT -5
Don't know how old you are, Mr. HL, but it doesn't seem to be a very mature attitude to kick people when they're down. No, I don't bother with excuses for LU and WGB--things happen, and we pick up and go on. Could it possibly be that you always find success in every effort and that explains having no tolerance for those who don't? Do you set such a high bar for others around you? In that case, life must be miserable, and one would hope you don't have children who would suffer from such rantings. (Or maybe underneath it's all just bluster . . . ) P.S. By the way, in some circles my nickname is Little Merry Sunshine, and it's a pretty good way to live, honest. Well Little Merry Sunshine, as harsh as I sound to you is how soft you sound to me. Best wishes in the world of mediocrity...
|
|
|
Post by stlvufan on Mar 19, 2011 3:07:37 GMT -5
If I do say so myself, this has suddenly ceased to be a conversation, civil or otherwise.
I think you both are reading too much into each other's posts. You're talking *at* each other, rather than *to* each other.
Nobody here is as soft as they apparently sound to you, wh. And ladybook, nobody here is as harsh as they apparently sound to you.
I dare say everybody here is more than capable of being both negative and positive and holding them in balance. I do have my doubts every once in awhile about that, but I still think it's true.
Everyone who "sounds" soft wants the team to win, and everyone who "sounds" harsh wants the team to win. Certainly there is more to life than winning a basketball game, but right now, for a few years these athletes have made a commitment to the team and to the sport, and all of us who spend hours and hours per week (or dare I say per day in some cases?) are interested in seeing them succeed.
Yes, they are also students, and that is often recognized here, but we don't tend to start new topics about their academic pursuits. What draws us here is the sport of basketball.
And, I'll repeat something I've said in the past: there is no earthly reason why anything anyone says on here should have any impact whatsoever on the athletes themselves. At the risk of being old-fashioned, if any athlete is lurking on this board and giving any credence whatsoever to anything being said here, they're crazy. As far as they are concerned, this message board should be assumed to be filled with nothing but nonsense. The only feedback that should matter to them is what they get from their coaches, who have forgotten more about basketball than any of us knows. If one of them asked me what I thought of their play, my response would be: why do you care? I'm an idiot fan with uneducated opinions.
Moreover, there has been no contract entered into by any of us to support the team, like the contract you enter into with your cell-phone company. We're here because we find the sport and the team compelling/interesting (obviously family members are an exception to this, and I do think for any who happen to dwell here we need to give them some slack), but we're free to like what we see or not and to decide when to lose interest. We're also free to support them unconditionally and not be subjected to accusations of being soft.
The only obligation here is to respect each other's fanhood choices instead of expecting others to feel the same way about the team that we do. For the most part, everybody here does a pretty good job of that.
I believe I'm being very even-handed here, not favoring either the so-called "harsh" or the so-called "soft".
|
|
|
Post by jj on Mar 19, 2011 18:40:44 GMT -5
LP! Hard or soft,who gives a damn. The facts are that VU must be on a crusade to be the baddest sports program in the USofA. For example: football 0-11,baseball 1-17,Wtennis 0-8,W b'ball 7-23. Can't get much worse than that. TG for volleyball. Valpo,you stink!
|
|
|
Post by crusadermoe on Mar 19, 2011 20:57:37 GMT -5
Pretty pathetic post JJ.
Football is pretty poor right now, but baseball was up last year and womens' hoops has a good history. Baseball took a trip west to challenge themselves (UNLV etc) and will benefit from it. Mens' hoops had a great year even tho they dropped the last 2 or 3. Why kick teams when they are down?
|
|